Three Essential Electrical Checks to Make Your Home Season-Ready
Keeping your home save and saving money
When it’s finally time to lock up and go on holiday, the last thing you want to worry about is what’s happening back home. As homeowners we face ongoing concerns about the safety and security of our home – especially when we go away. However, taking a few smart electrical precautions before you go on holiday can protect your home, safeguard your appliances, and save you real money.
Craig Lewis, Co-Owner at Sunlogic SA, says there are three key checks that owners should make before they pack their bags and head out on holiday – and why they matter for your safety, your comfort, and your wallet.
1. Install a Geyser Timer or Smart Geyser Controller
Your geyser is likely the single biggest consumer of electricity in your home – often responsible for up to 50% of your electricity costs – and leaving it running while you’re away is both unnecessary and costly. Installing a geyser timer or a smart switching device, such as a HotBot, allows you to switch it off entirely during your holiday and control it remotely from your phone by controlling on/off status, temperature, and ensuring you have hot water on your return.
A system like this will reduce energy waste, prolong the life of your geyser element and thermostat, and keep your monthly electricity bill under control. For homes with solar or inverter systems, smart geyser controls let you use your existing solar panels to heat your geyser, which is essential for balancing energy usage and save you even more money.
2. Install Proper Surge Protection
Security is non-negotiable but many homeowners don’t realise that their security ecosystem – alarm systems, electric fencing, gate motors, intercoms, and CCTV – relies heavily on small backup batteries. These batteries degrade over time and if they fail, your home can suddenly be left unprotected.
Lewis adds that a simple battery replacement, Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) installation or improved wiring will maintain full security functionality for your home. This keeps your alarm active, your perimeter secure, and your monitoring systems online, which is essential for both personal safety and insurance compliance.
3. Ensure Your Security Systems Have Reliable Backup Power
Security is non-negotiable but many homeowners don’t realise that their security ecosystem – alarm systems, electric fencing, gate motors, intercoms, and CCTV – relies heavily on small backup batteries. These batteries degrade over time and if they fail, your home can suddenly be left unprotected.
Lewis adds that a simple battery replacement, Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) installation or improved wiring will maintain full security functionality for your home. This keeps your alarm active, your perimeter secure, and your monitoring systems online, which is essential for both personal safety and insurance compliance.
A few smart electrical checks can make the difference between returning to a safe home or facing damaged appliances, security failures or costly repairs. Make sure you have peace of mind on holiday and get some of these basics sorted out before the end of the year.